Eric Cantor’s Real Game

Eric Cantor garnered headlines for his departure from budget talks with Vice President Biden. Cantor informed his nominal boss, Speaker John Boehner, the morning of his decision, leading Steve Benen to speculate about Cantor’s motivations.

I think it’s safe to say the top two House Republicans aren’t exactly coordinating their efforts. It’s also fair to say both would like to blame the other for a deal that no one is going to like.

And it’s also fair to say that if Republicans fare poorly in 2012, Cantor will be challenging Boehner for the caucus leadership post, and is taking the necessary steps now to ensure he’ll have more support than the Speaker among the GOP’s rank and file.

A deal is going to be reached and it will contain some things in there that the Republicans, particularly their freshmen Reps, will detest (and much that I will hate as well). Cantor is setting up to blame Boehner for any tax increase. Wow, Cantor vs. Boehner, that would be a fun battle to watch. The only problem is deciding who to root for.

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.